TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A French Senate delegation is set to arrive on Sept. 7, Wu Chih-chung (吳志中), Taiwan’s envoy to France, announced on Thursday (Sept. 1), during an interview with France 24.
The delegation will be led by Senators Cyril Pellevat, vice president of the European Affairs Committee, and Olivier Cadic, vice president of the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Armed Forces Committee. This is the second French senate delegation visiting Taiwan this year.
When asked if French support for Taiwan was the same level as in America, Wu said he believes the two should not be compared. French support is very important to the nation, he said, pointing out that the upcoming visit is the first one from a major European country after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's last month.
These parliament visits to Taiwan show that the world is concerned about the stability of the Taiwan Strait, the representative said, adding that support from democracies is “very important for the morale of Taiwan to resist the pressure from China, as well as the stability of the region, and for the interest of the world.”
Wu said the release of the recent U.N. report on China’s treatment of the Uyghurs is very important. The more we talk about Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet, “it will always be a very good thing," he said.
The representative said he is “very happy” that the U.N. is finally looking at what is happening inside China. Wu said he hoped in the future, the global organization will begin to talk about the “very serious conflict between China and Taiwan.” Global values and interests are at stake, he said.
Wu noted that the upcoming French senate delegation trip is significant in that it follows Pelosi's visit, per CNA. He said last year, both the French Senate and National Assembly passed resolutions supporting Taiwan's participation in international organizations.
Taiwan-France relations are growing day by day, and France's support for Taiwan and the stability of the Taiwan Strait is also evident in government speeches and through parliament diplomacy," CNA quoted the representative as saying.
In June, Senator Joel Guerriau, vice president of the Foreign Affairs Committee, led a group of lawmakers to meet with high-level Taiwan government officials to discuss matters including global and regional security, technological innovation, industrial supply chain, and other issues of common concern to Taiwan and France.
